"Rick...A True Friend"

Two days ago, I found out I lost two Facebook Friends, and I'm sad about it. Both were Christians so I call them both "Brother."

Brother #1, RICK (pictured above)  is someone who, I just learned, died suddenly in May 2018....during my Honeymoon. I can be forgiven for not knowing Rick died THEN because 1.) My bride and I *WERE* on the road (though the news of two OTHER passings of people I knew* reached me, even then and there) and 2.) His family never ANNOUNCED his death.

But still, I feel bad that it took me A YEAR AND A HALF to realize I hadn't heard from him....we were really close on Facebook at one time. 

When I searched Rick out two nights ago, I learned he's with the LORD now. (His Facebook page is now a TRIBUTE page, that's how I learned).

By contrast, the OTHER loss was Brother #2, who, after about 15 years of good online friendship, BLOCKED me without any explanation yesterday. We had been discussing the Chick-fil-A issue three days ago (see second blog back) and my last words to Mark were "Let's agree to disagree" and he Blocked me...no explanation!! Wow!!

I was looking through my MANY private Facebook Messages with Rick since learning that he's gone, and was reminded that, in 2013, Rick was MAD at me and threatened to leave my page for something involving SOMEONE ELSE.  These things happen, friends (brothers) DO get mad at one another sometimes but they WORK IT OUT.  Rick and I talked it out honestly (as true friends do) and were even BETTER friends for the next 5 years, before he passed!! THAT is true Friendship!!

But to cut someone off with NO attempt at resolution is NOT Friendship, on Facebook OR in "real life."

And, for that matter, it's not even CHRISTIAN to dump people so casually. FRIENDS make AMENDS!! Rick sure did.

Now, I am not condemning Brother #2, by the way because *I* am not a perfect friend, as was obvious in the way I "forgot" Brother # 1. 

And I expect to meet BOTH of these Brothers in Heaven one day so THAT'S a consolation!! Also, I'm thankful I still have my BEST human friend....the one I married last year, and that I will ALWAYS have HER until the LORD separates us by calling one of US Home.

But there's a LESSON in there....more than ONE, in fact, about Friendship and how it needs to be VALUED and NURTURED. After all, Life IS short, people!!

And our only PERFECT Friend is the LORD JESUS, a friend who "sticks closer than a brother" and Who will never leave or forsake us!!!

As Thanksgiving approaches, I thank the Lord for  HUMAN FRIENDS LIKE RICK...friends who are TRUE friends, in "real life," online, and in the "here and now."  And I'm going to strive to be an even BETTER friend in the future for them, as I remember RICK.

* The two I became aware of during our Honeymoon were people I knew in REAL LIFE and actually MET many, many times over many YEARS, which explains how news of THEIR deaths reached me even on my Honeymoon.  The two Brothers mentioned in this blog were only ONLINE friends.